|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MOIRA DRYER |
Moira Dryer's brief career encompassed many artistic styles, including sculpture, surrealism, figural paintings, abstractions that resemble fabric patterns, landscapes, and seascapes.
In Dryer's final exhibition at the Mary Boone Gallery in the winter of 1992, visitors encountered Random Fire and six similar paintings, all a radical departure from Dryer's previous works. The exhibition remained on view longer than expected, due to the artist's death from cancer at the age of 35.
Random Fire was given to the Galley by Dryer’s estate. The painting is large, made from two plywood panels painted with acrylic. The second sheet of plywood, painted black, is recessed behind the first sheet of plywood. A number of drilled, round holes allow this black background to be seen through the first panel. The acrylic paint was thinned, creating an overall effect that resembles watercolor and creates the impression of water gently flowing downwards.
It is impossible to say whether or not elements of Dryer's work relate directly to her illness. For example, a wall riddled with bullet holes might be compared to a body riddled with cancer. On the other hand, the holes may merely refer to the painting's title, Random Fire, or a shot that completely misses the green and white target on the music stand. Dryer never overtly implied that there were analogies between her paintings and her illness, but after she was diagnosed her work did change, albeit in a subtle way, and became more expressive. For example, the target shape, which appeared in her work in the 1980s and was initially used to show contrasts of colors, was transformed over time--in one painting, Dryer combined two semicircular pieces of wood to resemble female genitalia; in another context, the target became a clock without hands.
Dryer commented on her work as a whole, writing: "The emotional content is a central issue from which the ideas evolve...What emotions? Anxiety, fear and desire, melancholy."
– Mariann Smith, Curator of Education